Dragon
Dragons are extremly large, extremely powerful, extremely rich, and currently extremely angry. No doubt the library would appreciate contributions regarding the production of dragon repellant. In Mithrasia dragons appear to be a united front currently, and have retaliated against settler aggression with extreme force. A 'friendly' dragon has also been reported in another plane of existance . Dragons are sentient and have been able to communicate with adventurers without apparent effort. Actual Plays in which dragons are encountered can be found by looking the category 'Dragon.' It has been reported that dragons will swear fealty for a year and a day to any being which forces them to submit in combat. History of Dragon Encounters The earliest mention of dragons seems to be in the winter of 352, in which adventurers began to report strange dreams of fire, darkness, and destruction. Druids were uneasy, sensing the awakening of some 'primeval force.' By spring of 352, adventurers have boasted of killing a dragon, and another has been seen in the sky. In spring of 353, adventurers killed another dragon, leaving its offspring alive. The offspring of the dragon left, reportedly to inform other dragons. By autumn 353, several dragons (or one dragon with colour-changing scales) had been spotted around Whitmouth and Robard's Crossing . In summer of 354, the infamous attack at Robard's Crossing attack was mounted by multiple dragons in retaliation for the deaths of their kin to adventurers. Shortly before this dragons had muscle-armed the identity of the culprits out of a village of lizardmen . Two dragons were killed and the others driven off, however Robard's Crossing was reduced to flooded ashes and many villagers died. By winter of 354, the dragons have still not mounted a second attack. However, the dreams of fire continue, and dragons have been seen scouting. In Summer of 355, a party went seeking the avatar of the Primal Dragon with the aim of subduing it. The end result of this was a treaty between the Dragons and the colony of Whitmouth. During this time, adventurers report seeing the Shadows negotiating with the Dragons with the goal being the destruction of Whitmouth. The adventurers managed to convince the Dragons that this was a bad idea. The Life-cycle of dragons Some of the following has been transcribed from conversations with "Spike", current Assistant Librarian at the Whitmouth City Library and himself a dragon. -Aelfar Childhood: Dragons are born in "clutches" of five or six. For the first fifty or so years of their life they are effectively "children": curious, somewhat innocent, and generally on par with demihumans in terms of life experience and intellect. Adolescence: Past fifty, dragons will quickly develop an urge to find a mate and settle down. At this stage their parents will generally kick them out of home as they become quickly territorial. A "teenage" dragon will instinctively hunt non-dragons for food, fight same-sex dragons viewing them as competition, and make aggressive overtures to opposite-sex dragons. (There has been no evidence of same-sex relationships between dragons at this stage, however the relatively small sample size does not preclude this sort of thing from happening. I wonder, however, how deeply-ingrained the fight-or-mate instinct is, and how this would affect such relationships. It may be that these dragons spend the first two hundred years of their lives feeling isolated and alienated, only developing meaningful relationships later in their lives. -A) One a dragon has found a mate, it will settle down and begin the next phase of its life. First brood: When raising their first brood, Dragons are intensely territorial. Their incredibly long life-cycles, coupled with the small number of young, means they're incredibly protective of their young and will attempt to drive off or kill anything they consider as a threat that comes close to the nest. Eggs take approximately a year to hatch, and after that the parents will nurture the young until age approximately fifty. By this stage the parents will be around one hundred fifty years old. Following the departure of their first brood, dragons will properly enter their "adult" phase. Adult: Adult dragons are finally free of the drive of instincts. They may continue to breed, and many dragons will have a second or third clutch of young. However they are considerably less territorial and protective of these clutches. (I wonder how this affects the temperament of the young, as compared to those raised in first broods. -A) Dragons at this stage may also start interacting with other dragons, and any dragon "communities" will be made up mainly of adult dragons. At this stage dragons are likely to take up "hobbies" as well, whether these are history, magic, meddling in politics, elemental mastery, dabbling in immortality, what-have-you. The lifespan of a healthy adult dragon is unknown. Category:Wildlife Category:Faction Category:Dragon Category:Reference